Pilot Study of a Method to Objectively Measure Asthenopia Symptoms

Abstract

Asthenopia is a commonly encountered clinical diagnosis in the pre-presbyopic demographic. With the increasing number of hours per day of computer and digital device usage in the population, its prevalence has been increasing. Asthenopia is defined to encompass a broad range of symptoms, which may be summarized in two categories: eyestrain due to accommodative or convergence dysfunction, or eyestrain as a manifestation of dry eye. While these categories are not mutually exclusive, treatment of asthenopia has historically been limited to the use of spectacle lenses to alleviate accommodative stress during near activities, and the isolated treatment of dry eye symptoms. New technologies in contact lens designs have been found to achieve asthenopia symptom relief based off subjective symptom surveys. The pilot study presented in this thesis presents a method of inducing asthenopia symptoms while objectively measuring the ocular response to the induction stimulus. This method may be performed while a contact lens is worn. Conceptually, this study was designed to explore a method that may be used in future research to investigate the in-vivo efficacy of anti-fatigue treatments (e.g. contact lenses) in an objective, rather than subjective, capacity. The results of this pilot project demonstrate the most promising method for future research involves testing with a small-font stimulus.